Attending a Running Injury Conference in Sheperdstown, WV

Why runners get hurt is a question that occupies my mind almost constantly. It’s amazing that so simple an activity can cause so many problems for so many people – for example, the scientific literature reports injury rates ranging from about 20-75% of runners in studies that have been conducted to date. In my quest to better educate myself on the topic of running injury, I decided to accept my friend Dr. Mark Cucuzzella’s offer to head down to Sheperdstown, West Virginia this weekend to attend a 3 day conference/course on prevention and treatment strategies for running injuries. Put on by the RunningClinic.ca, the course should be a great learning experience for me, and my intention is to blog about the experience while there and/or after returning home. Stay tuned!

Guest panelists include leading clinicians, researchers, teachers, writers, athletes, and footwear experts from around the globe (note, though I appreciate Mark’s sentiment below, I suspect that this little blog is not the world’s most widely read site on running innovation):

This post was authored by Peter Larson. Pete is a recovering academic who currently works as an exercise physiologist, running coach, and writer. He's also a father of three and a fanatical runner with a bit of a shoe obsession. In addition to writing and editing this site, he is co-author of the book Tread Lightly, and writes a personal blog called The Blogologist. Follow Pete on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and via email.

Comments

I wouldn’t sell yourself short Pete. I greatly respect your input and check for post updates daily. I’m really interested to hear your feedback on the conference. We see a plethora of sports related, and running related injuries in our clinics at Yale, usually I diagnose them from behind an MRI monitor. I have always struggled with posterior tibial tendinitis but have for the most part overcome that by converting to a midfoot/forefoot striking pattern. Unfortunately, my zest for achieving the perfect form overwhelmed my patience and self discipline to do it gradually and I developed a bad case of achilles tendonitis which sidelined me for the past two and a half weeks. I would love to hear your take on diet and weight loss using running and finding that ideal running wieght. I’ve found that my own body is nearly injury free as long as I am below a threshold weight which I am about 15 lbs over as of now. I’m hoping to get below that magic number before my first marathon, Disney 2012. Keep up the excellent work.

Wish I could come -unfortunately, my CEU’s this year are tied into the AMAA meeting at Boston during marathon weekend, so will fortunately get to listen to Mark C. and Dan Lieberman there this time around.

I spoke briefly about some of my marathon footage, and a bit at a publicforum on my personal running story. Course has been extremely interesting -lots of PT’s here, and it’s very clear that the science behind theminimalist approach is gaining momentum.

I’m curious as to whether there will be any discussion of posture and spinal alignment as it relates to running injuries. Personally, after experiencing some IT band and PF pain while running, I started trying the Gokhale Method and focusing on posture improvements. The pain and inflammation cleared up in a couple of weeks, and my running form feels a lot more dialed in. A sample of one I know, but logically it makes sense that poor posture and misaligned hips could lead to pain in the lower extremities.

Pete,sorry about the runbogger blooper, but maybe this could be your kids new site. And ditto on not selling yourself short. Your site is a portal of objective dissemination, interpretation, and reflection on the science of running. It is bold and refreshing when a citizen scientist takes this on with high quality…otherwise we would need to go to Nike.com for info on healthy running (like going to Pfizer.com to learn about the benefits of cholesterol lowering). As a doc I wish an honest forum existed for every questionable, harmful, and expensive medical intervention so this could be debated honestly and without bias. Look forward to meeting you and yes we will tape the Friday session.For those interested in future 3 day conference put your name in here. https://secure.therunningclini…Mark Cucuzzella

Pete,I have changed my running style dramatically in the past couple of years, including minimalist shoes. My big focus has been on not over striding (stepping too far past my hips), and I have noticed a big difference in how comfortable I am now able to go longer distances. Of course I have had to slow down a bit, but I am gaining that time back (just without the pain!). Is this a good principle to adhere by?

Yes, my gut feeling is that the single best thing a runner can do isknock out over striding. Fix that, and the rest may just be minordetails. I probably use a variety of foot strikes when I run see days,but my stride is definitely shorter and quicker.

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